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ANNUAL REVIEW OF NATURAL DISASTERS 2010

Earthquakes, heat waves, floods, volcanoes, super typhoons, blizzards, landslides and droughts killed at least a quarter million people in 2010 — the deadliest year in more than a generation.

Kristalina Georgieva, European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid & Crisis Response characterizes 2010 as A YEAR OF UNPRECEDENTED NATURAL DISASTERS.

She estimated 2010's costs in relation to natural disasters at more than 180 billion EURO compared to between 70 and 80 billion Euro in previous years.
More than 300,000 people died in 2010 as a consequence of natural disasters. The number of disasters is expected to rise in the years to come due to CLIMATE CHANGE and the INCREASE in the WORLD POPULATION.

A list of day-by-day disasters in 2010 compiled by the AP is 64 printed pages long. Therefore I do not write about all these, but will refer you to the daily update in the thread “News in relation to natural disasters”.

I am focusing on the major disasters in 2010 and not least on the COLDPLAY-related one – the devastating earthquakes on 12.1.10 in HAITI (PART I) and in CHILE on 27.2.10 (PART II). HAITI was in the headlines in most of 2010 because the country was hit by one disaster after the other in 2010 (see below). Also the MASSIVE FLOODS in PAKISTAN are covered more intensively in PART III, as this disaster is so heartbreaking covering more than 20 million people and such a vast area. PART IV covers the rest of the mentioned natural disasters.

Poor construction and development practices conspire to make earthquakes more deadly than they need be. More people live in poverty in vulnerable buildings in crowded cities. That means that when the ground shakes, the river breaches, or the tropical cyclone hits, more people die. The January earthquake that killed between 220,000 and 330,000 people in Haiti is a perfect example.

In February, an earthquake that was more than 500 times stronger than the one that struck Haiti hit an area of Chile that was less populated, better constructed, and not as poor. Chile's bigger quake caused fewer than 1,000 deaths.

The HAITI EARTHQUAKE struck on 12 JANUARY 2010:

On 12 January 2010 the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, the Caribbean nation HAITI was hit by a devastating magnitude 7.0 earthquake - Haiti's worst earthquake in 200 years. It destroyed 75% of the capital, PORT-au-PRINCE and threatened more than 3 million people. Many UN employees – also UN leaders - were killed. The death toll was stated at between 250,000 and 330,000, and there were victims from 30 countries. In the days following the earthquake at least 135 trapped people (buried in rubble) were rescued by search teams, most in the immediate aftermath. 41 violent aftershocks followed. There was no electricity and limited access to clean water. Many roads were impassable due to collapsed buildings. It took a long time to get the aid out to the population. The USA controlled the airport in Port-au-Prince and focused initially on letting people like the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton and other leading political figures into Haiti on flights landing in Port-au-Prince’s airport.
The aid agencies had to use airports in the neighbouring Dominican Republic’s airport and then transport the relief goods by truck to Haiti on the damaged roads. There was fear of looters and robbers.

Where donated RICE, BEANS or READY-TO-EAT MEALS were being distributed, crowds quickly become unruly, with young men pushing ahead and grabbing food bags from women and the weak. UN peacekeepers fired pepper spray and Haitian police swang sticks to restore control.

Food remained scarce for many of the neediest survivors despite the efforts of the United Nations, the US military and dozens of international aid groups.

CHRIS MARTIN released this message:

"I visited Haiti with Oxfam a few years ago. It's a country of extreme poverty and brutal living conditions. Most people in Port-au-Prince live in tin shacks. The earthquake that has struck Haiti will have turned the city into an unimaginable hell. The people of Haiti will be desperate for help and assistance. You can make a donation towards Oxfam's Haiti Earthquake Appeal at the following website:

Many coldplayers donated in response to this appeal / message from Chris Martin.
Few days after the earthquake, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton flew to Port-au-Prince to pledge more American assistance and said the US would be "as responsive as we need to be." President Obama met with former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton and urged Americans to donate to Haiti relief efforts.

On the 25 January the "Hope for Haiti" benefit took place in favour of the victims of the earthquake in Haiti. Great stars like COLDPLAY, Beyoncé, Bono, the Edge and Jay-Z performed. COLDPLAY sang a new version of A Message, and Chris Martin accompanied Beyoncé on the piano as she sang a new version of “Halo”.
The show would benefit the RED CROSS, UNICEF, OXFAM AMERICA, Partners in Health and Jean's YELE HAITI FOUNDATION.

The ALL-STAR HAITI TELETHON raised $57 MILLION and counting, and the "Hope for Haiti Now" CD was the biggest one-day pre-order in iTunes’ history.

Big tent villages were established for the victims of the Haiti earthquake on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince. About 1.5 million homeless Haitians were to live there for a long period of time including during the RAINY SEASON.

The worst-hit towns such as Leogane 30 km away from Port-au-Prince were not receiving any help and had run out of food.

All the time, there was only a limited access to shelter, sanitation, water, food and medical treatment. And there was poor sanitation in tent camps.

An international conference on rebuilding / reconstructing Haiti took place on 25 January 2010 in Montreal in Canada. Governments pledged nearly $1 billion in aid to Haiti, according to an Associated Press estimate, including $575 million from the European Union's 27 nations. The world pledged more money, food, medicine and police.

Before the earthquake there were 380,000 orphans in Haiti, and the earthquake resulted in many more. And at the same time there was fear of child trafficking as some children disappeared from the hospitals.

A group of missionaries were arrested with some alleged orphans, but it turned out that most children still had parents. Some of the parents admitted that they had handed over the children to the missionaries who would take them to an orphanage in the Dominican Republic. The leader of the missionaries was arrested charged with child trafficking whereas the other missionaries were released.
The rainy season started, but by then the news media did not report much from HAITI even though it must have been terrible living in the flooded, make-shift tented villages.

AVAAZ and OXFAM APPEALED to the world community: HELP HAITI TODAY AND TOMORROW by means of DEBT RELIEF FOR HAITI. “It's time to cancel Haiti's debt fully and without conditions, and ensure that earthquake aid is made with grants, not loans.”

There were reports of an increasing number of rapes conducted by raping gangs. Violence against women was a problem in Haiti long before the earthquake, with rape only recognized as a crime in 2005.

The UN sent more UN peacekeeping forces to HAITI.

In October HAITI was struck by both CHOLERA (see below) and FLOODS. On 20 October, 10 died in FLOODS and MUDSLIDES after 3 days of heavy rains. In the beginning of November the category-1 hurricane TOMAS swept the western part of HAITI with heavy rain and stormy winds killing up to 20 people and injuring 36 people in fully flooded towns and tent camps. Before the hurricane struck, many tented camps were evacuated. The hurricane passed without destroying the tented camps in and around Port-au-Prince.

Hurricane TOMAS flooded areas where earthquake survivors were already living with only basic sanitation. The tropical storm also flooded rivers including the Artibonite, believed to be one of the main sources of the cholera outbreak.
Some poor Haitians admitted to drinking water from a river known to be contaminated with the cholera-causing bacteria, because they didn't always have money to buy bottled water. “We know there may be cholera in there, but sometimes it is all we have to drink," said Alienne Cilencrieux, 24. "If we have Clorox, we pour some in and drink it. It tastes bad. Or we dig in the ground until we find water and drink that."

On 5 November Haiti's government and the United Nations appealed to donors for nearly $19m (£11.7m) to cover urgent humanitarian needs.

On 12 November, there was a new UN APPEAL FOR HAITI CHOLERA AID. The UN appealed for $163.8 million - nearly $164m (£102m) - to fight a cholera outbreak in Haiti.

Hospitals in Port-au-Prince are overflowing and patients may have to be treated in the streets.

The World Health Organization does not expect the epidemic to end soon, and there are projections of 200,000 cases over the next six to 12 months.

Billions of dollars in promised international aid has been slow in coming. Finally on Friday, 12.11.10 the first portion of US financial aid for reconstruction in Haiti was on its way, more than seven months after it was promised to help the country re-build after the earthquake in January.

The $120m (£74m) - about a tenth of the amount pledged in total by the US - has faced several delays.

Only 37.8% of the money pledged by all countries for 2010-11 has been delivered to the poverty-stricken nation. The reason might be Haiti’s government and administration having a bad reputation of being corrupt.

The CHOLERA outbreak began in Haiti's Artibonite River valley in mid-October and at first seemed to have been contained. But Hurricane TOMAS flooded rivers believed to be contaminated with cholera and submerged refugee communities already struggling to survive. Later cholera spread to the capital, Port-au-Prince. Special treatment centres were set up in the worst affected area around the Artibonite River, as well as in Port-au-Prince.

Aid agencies say access to CLEAN WATER is a major problem, and they are struggling to get the MESSAGE across to Haitians to seek medical help as soon as cholera-like symptoms appear. Even before the earthquake only 40% of Haitians had safe drinking water.

Between 1.3 million and 1.5 million survivors of January's devastating earthquake are living in tent camps in and around the capital. Poor sanitary conditions make the camps and slums vulnerable to cholera, which is caused by bacteria transmitted through contaminated water or food. Cholera causes diarrhoea and vomiting leading to severe dehydration, and can kill within 24 hours, but is easily treated through rehydration and antibiotics.

CHOLERA has up to 26.12.10 cost 3,333 human lives according to Haiti's Health Ministry, and almost 150,000 people have been infected. International health experts think that up to 400,000 people could be infected in the coming 12 months. The number of deaths per day due to cholera is now the highest since the cholera outbreak in mid-October. On 19.12.10, up to 100 Haitians died due to cholera (recently it was reported that the number of deaths per day due to cholera had fallen to 50). The number of deaths per day due to cholera in November ranged from between 60 and 80. There were rumours that Nepalese UN soldiers had brought the disease to the hard hit country – rumours that the UN is currently investigating. The rumours resulted in protests and riots, and the UN was forced to cancel flights carrying soap, medical supplies and personnel to the north, where the outbreak was centred.

UPDATE (5.1.11): Updated Number of Cholera deaths in Haiti as on 29.12.10: 3,481 according to the Haitian Health Ministry and the number of infected was 157,300 since the cholera outbreak 10 weeks ago.

Each day more than 22 die due to cholera which is less than earlier when the number of cholera deaths per day was 60. Experts think that far more Haitians have died and are infected than stated by the Haitian authorities.

Medicin Sans Frontières (MSF) reported that the HAITI CHOLERA OUTBREAK RESPONSE was 'INADEQUATE'. Urgent needs were not being met. It called for swift action to build latrines, provide safe water supplies, remove bodies and reassure frightened people that the disease is treatable.

Aid groups have criticised the SLOW PACE OF INTERNATIONAL DONATIONS in response to the crisis. Imogen Wall, a spokeswoman for the UN humanitarian agency OCHA, told Reuters that the UN had only received $5m (£3m) of the $164m it had appealed for a week ago to fight the epidemic.

About 500,000 homeless Haitians have recently left the miserable tent camps.
An election was held on 28.11.10 in Haiti. But suspicion of election fraud resulted in riots. The headquarter of the government party was set on fire. Haiti's airports were temporarily closed after VIOLENT CLASHES that cost 4 human lives. Thousands demonstrated in towns and cities in all of Haiti.

A second round is scheduled on 16.01.11.

A successful election is seen as crucial to establishing an effective government in Haiti after years of instability.

Whoever becomes president will face the task of rebuilding the country after the devastating earthquake that killed around 230,000 people – maybe as many as 330,000 - last January, as well as battling a cholera epidemic.

Roskilde 5 July 2009

Herning 16 August 2009

HELP CHILE AND HAITI by making DONATIONS to ONE OF THESE RELIEF ORGANIZATIONS:

ANNUAL REPORT OF NATURAL DISASTERS IN 2010, PART II - CHILE

ON 27 FEBRUARY 2010 THERE WAS A 90-SECOND-LONG MAGNITUDE 8.8 EARTHQUAKE IN CHILE - ITS EPICENTRE WAS OFF CHILE's COAST. THE EARTHQUAKE RESULTED IN A TSUNAMI. 521 PEOPLE WERE KILLED.

The earthquake – the biggest to hit Chile in 50 years and the fifth-strongest since 1900 - struck 115km (70 miles) north-east of the city of CONCEPCION and 325km south-west of the capital SANTIAGO. The tsunami was as high as 1.29 METERS off the Pacific Ocean. According to villagers in Samar and Surigao provinces—the areas in the country most affected by that tsunami— the huge wall of water reached as high as six meter.

Chile’s Defence Minister Francisco Vidal said the country's navy had made a mistake by not immediately issuing a tsunami warning after the earthquake, a move that could have helped coastal residents flee to higher ground sooner. He said PORT CAPTAINS who did CALL WARNINGS IN SEVERAL COASTAL TOWNS had saved hundreds if not thousands of lives.

Between ½ and 1.5 million homes in Chile were damaged making many people homeless. Most of the collapsed buildings were of older design - including many historic structures.

Worst hit were Chile’s second-largest city CONCEPCION as well as CONSTITUCION , TALCAHUANO and CURICÓ. About 350 bodies were found in the fishing village of Constitucion alone.

About 90% of the historic centre of the town of CURICÓ was destroyed. Many roads and bridges across the affected area were damaged or destroyed.

Close to 80 percent of TALCAHUANO's residents were made homeless. Mayor Gaston Saavedra: "The port is destroyed. The streets, collapsed. City buildings, destroyed."

MORE THAN 100 PEOPLE DIED IN CONCEPCION, the largest city near the epicenter with more than 200,000 people. Rescuers heard the knocking of victims trapped inside a TOPPLED 70-UNIT APARTMENT BUILDING and managed to reach them: FIREFIGHTERS PULLED 25 SURVIVORS and NINE BODIES from the structure.

A bus full of passengers was swept away.

Several Pacific countries were hit by waves higher than usual after a tsunami was set off by the quake.

In French Polynesia waves 6ft (1.8m) high swept ashore, but there were no immediate reports of damage. Hawaii, Tahiti and New Zealand were among countries to warn residents in coastal areas to move to higher ground.

President Michelle Bachelet declared a "STATE OF CATASTROPHE" in affected areas and appealed for calm. Ms Bachelet said a "wave of large proportion" had affected the Juan Fernandez island group, reaching halfway into one inhabited area. Local media say that between three and 13 people are missing.

The jolt set off a TSUNAMI that swamped San Juan Bautista Village on ROBINSON CRUSOE ISLAND off Chile, killing at least five people and leaving 11 missing.

The surge of water raced across the Pacific, setting off alarm sirens in Hawaii, Polynesia and Tonga, but the tsunami waves proved small and did little damage as they reached as far as Japan.

11.3.10: President Michelle Bachelet sacked the head of the navy's oceanography service because no clear tsunami alert was issued before the deadly tsunami following the quake.

Michelle Bachelet left office, and the conservative billionaire Sebastian Piñera was sworn in as president at a low-key ceremony. Minutes before the ceremony in the city of Valparaiso, Chile was shaken by a 7.2 magnitude tremor - one of 3 strong aftershocks during the ceremony. There was a total of 10 aftershocks that day. The navy issued a tsunami alert that was lifted again after a few hours. The tremors could be felt in Valparaiso, where Chile's new president was sworn in and in the capital, Santiago, where thousands ran out of the houses and into the streets in Santiago.

President Piñera's most important task is to be in charge of the rebuilding of the quake-affected areas of Chile. "We won't be the government of the earthquake, we'll be the government of reconstruction," Mr Pinera said.

Despite complaints that aid was slow to reach the hungry and homeless, experts say Chile's response to one of history's most powerful earthquakes has been a model for disaster recovery.

It is true that Chile's navy and emergency preparedness office failed to issue a tsunami warning that might have saved hundreds of lives after the Feb. 27 quake, and Bachelet didn't order soldiers to impose order in the streets until after looting had spun out of control. BUT experts say other smart moves — like insisting that foreign help meet specific needs, quickly patching up roads and having the military handle logistics — made it possible to deliver 12,000 tons of relief in just 10 days.

Chile's critical north-south highway was restored the day after the quake. The patchwork repairs soon enabled an aid convoy of 100 tractor-trailers to make the eight-hour journey south from the capital to the most damaged cities.

"We were where we needed to be immediately," the socialist president said in a Chilean TV interview.

“It was frustrating to have to make decisions based on INCOMPLETE INFORMATION”, Bachelet said: Seismographs were knocked offline when the power went out, and the navy gave MIXED SIGNALS ON THE TSUNAMI. She said there was no hint looting would soon begin when she toured the disaster area hours after the quake. Chile clearly needs to improve its emergency communications and warning systems, she said.

A poll sponsored by the conservative newspaper El Mercurio said 72 percent believe the government responded late and inefficiently to re-establish order, and 60 percent believe aid delivery has been too slow and inefficient. The survey of 600 adults in Santiago had a margin of error of 4 percentage points.

But a larger tracking poll done before and after the Feb. 27 earthquake said Bachelet's 84 percent approval rating hasn't been dented.

Most Chileans blame the navy and emergency managers for botching the tsunami warning.

Bachelet insisted on a quick analysis of the disaster first. Then, within hours, she was asking other countries for field hospitals, satellite phones, floating bridges and dialysis centers — specialized equipment that complemented Chile's own rescue and relief effort.

Veterans of other disasters have been impressed by Chile's response.

Ten days after the quake, more than 90 percent of homes in the disaster area have regular power and water and a half-million survivors are getting water trucked in. Food aid is flowing in huge cargo planes and military helicopters, navy ships and tractor-trailers.

Countless volunteers have turned out to help the 14,000 soldiers who stand guard and help deliver relief, and a national TELETHON raised $60 MILLION — enough to build SMALL EMERGENCY SHELTERS for most of the poorest survivors whose homes were destroyed.

After having been sworn in, the new president toured the worst-hit areas. Pinera repeatedly called for courage as he toured Constitucion, where he left 130 flowers along the riverbank for the dead and missing caught in the tsunami. He signed an order giving one-time cash handouts of $76 each to 4.2 million disaster survivors, and said he would send laws creating subsidies and tax-deductible donations to congress in the morning.
After taking office, Mr Pinera said it would cost at least $30bn to rebuild the country, nearly 20% of Chilean GDP. He said loans and budgetary savings would be used to rebuild infrastructure, homes and industry.

Chile's most important export good, copper, was not affected by the quake, but other trades / industries such as wine production and fishing industry were damaged. Many coastal areas were totally destroyed by the tsunami.

On 16.3.10 - 3 weeks after the massive earthquake - Chile was shaken by a strong magnitude-6.7 aftershock off the Pacific coast about 70 km northwest of CONCEPCION according to USGS.

In the next couple of months 25 to 45 tremors will occur with a magnitude of 5.0 and higher according to a US earthquake expert of US Geological Survey in the Chilean capital, Santiago.

The magnitude-8.8 earthquake that struck just off Chile's coast was more than 500 times more powerful than the 7.0 quake that devastated Haiti. It was so strong that it shifted the Earth's orbit and moved Concepcion three meters (10 feet) to the west, scientists say.

Yet Chile's infrastructure and modern buildings designed to withstand a magnitude-9 earthquake emerged largely intact. Chile had only a tiny fraction of Haiti's estimated 230,000 killed.

Even though the earthquake in Chile was far stronger than the one that struck Haiti last month, the death toll only ran in the hundreds compared with Chile’s 220,000 (maybe even 330,000) since the South American country is wealthier and infinitely better prepared, with strict building codes, robust emergency response and a long history of handling seismic catastrophes.

Roskilde 5 July 2009

Herning 16 August 2009

HELP CHILE AND HAITI by making DONATIONS to ONE OF THESE RELIEF ORGANIZATIONS:

In the last days of July PAKISTAN and the India-administered Kashmir were hit by massive floods caused by the unusually heavy monsoon rain in July. The monsoon floods started in the mountainous NORTH and moved steadily SOUTHwards, destroying 1.2m homes and damaging 3.2m hectares (7.9m acres) of farmland - about 14% of Pakistan's land under cultivation.

20% OF PAKISTAN WAS FLOODED. In total, between 17 and 20 million of Pakistan's 166 million people were affected by the disaster. At least 6 MILLION of them were children at risk of malnutrition, pneumonia and diarrhea. Around 1,800 people died.

THIS DISASTER AFFECTED MORE THAN THE WORLD's THREE DISASTERS COMBINED:

About 220,000 were killed in the December 2004 tsunami in Asia.

More than THREE MILLION people were AFFECTED by the 2005 PAKISTAN EARTHQUAKE,

FIVE MILLION were affected by the 2004 TSUNAMI and

THREE MILLION were affected by the HAITI EARTHQUAKE IN JANUARY.

27 August 2010: UN: SOUTH PAKISTAN FLOODS DISPLACED A MILLION PEOPLE IN 48 HOURS

In SOUTHERN PAKISTAN the water masses in the SWOLLEN INDUS RIVER BREACHED MORE DAMS FORCING HUNDRED THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE TO FLEE. A total of 2.3 MILLION PEOPLE in the neighbourhood of THATTA were WITHOUT SHELTER. Practically all 300,000 INHABITANTS of the city of THATTA were EVACUATED, because a nearby DAM WAS BREACHED, and the water was streaming through a 20 m wide BREACH / GAP.

An estimated 4 MILLION PEOPLE were DISPLACED in the CITY OF SUKKAR alone.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said DISEASES were SPREADING IN AFFECTED AREAS.

29.8.10: BBC: SUJAWAL, a town of some 250,000 people, was SUBMERGED while people battled to SAVE the nearby city of THATTA – with success. A major inundation was avoided thanks to the hasty rebuilding of levees around the town.

A month after the floods began, the effort was still focused on the first stage of relief, RESCUING and EVACUATING people.

The massive floods left some 8M PEOPLE IN NEED of EMERGENCY RELIEF.

ONE MONTH after the beginning of the DEVASTATING FLOODS in PAKISTAN, the water masses were slowly receding. The survivors were still threatened by HUNGER and WATER-BORNE DISEASES SUCH AS DIARRHOEA and CHOLERA. There was an ACUTE THREAT TO THE LIVES OF 72,000 CHILDREN. About 72,000 children were already affected by severe malnutrition, UN officials said.

30.8.10. FLOODWATERS IN SOUTH PAKISTAN 'BEGINNING TO RECEDE' according to
emergency officials in Pakistan.

Muslim nations donated nearly $1bn (£640m) to help Pakistan, and other nations pledged hundreds of millions of dollars, but officials said it would take many billions for Pakistan to recover from the disaster.

Pakistan’s government estimated that the reconstruction would cost around $15 billion.

UN officials said that 1.6 MILLION PEOPLE were AFFECTED BY WATER-BORNE DISEASES such as CHOLERA, DIARRHOEA and DYSENTERY. Doctors in some flood-hit regions were overwhelmed by health problems including SKIN RASHES, DEHYDRATION and DIARRHOEA and treated people for these problems as well as ACUTE RESPIRATORY INFECTIONS and MALARIA.

In the NORTH, workers began clearing up as the floods receded.

A SECOND FLOOD WAVE rolled through the PUNJAB province and threatened the city of MULTAN with 4.5 mio inhabitants.

The UNITED NATIONS warned of a second deadly wave due to DISEASES AND HUNGER.

2 million people had received drinking water, but "large numbers" had no access
to water or sanitation.

Around 6.9.10 the Pakistani government admitted that one million victims of the massive floods last months have received NO AID. The government was under hard pressure from Taleban and Islamic aid organizations who had been better at helping the victims.

Danish newspaper BT (baa@bt.dk) reported on Monday, 6 September 2010 that needy and distressed Pakistani were victims of hunger and diseases. They were running out of food.

“A nightmare.” Secretary-general Anders Ladekarl from Danish Red Cross did not hesitate when asked to characterize the extent of the flood disaster in Pakistan.

"I do not like to compare disasters, because it is impossible. The TSUNAMI KILLED 350,000 PEOPLE, and the EARTHQUAKE in HAITI KILLED almost 200,000 PEOPLE and DESTROYED A CITY.

But geographically and in terms of numbers of people affected, the PAKISTANI FLOOD DISASTER is probably THE WORST we have ever experienced.

It makes it a nightmare in terms of our relief efforts, because the disaster affects so many people in such a huge area where it is difficult to reach the victims. Even though the water has started to recede in some areas, the infrastructure is all gone," the secretary-general of Danish Red Cross adds.

With almost 17 MILLION AFFECTED PAKISTANI, of which many have no access to clean drinking water, health is one of the big problems / issues in the nearest future. HUNGER and WATER-BORNE DISEASES such as CHOLERA and DIARRHOEA threaten to cost many, many human lives.

"We experience a rapidly increasing challenge in the health area. The number of cases of diarrhoea has exploded in the last couple of days, because people do not have access to clean drinking water, and they are staying in areas unfit to house so many people.

Sanitation & hygiene has deteriorated much / is poor, and even though some areas might have running water or water in the wells - that water is by far not clean,” Anders Ladekarl stresses.

THE DANGERS:

HUNGER. It is estimated that 8 MILLION PAKISTANI NEED AID URGENTLY - in particular FOOD AND MEDICINE

DIARRHOEA. A direct consequence of the lack of clean drinking water. In particular mothers and young girls are vulnerable, because they look after the younger children who are having diarrhoea.

CHOLERA. May spread rapidly. There is a particularly high risk of spreading in the flooded areas in Pakistan, because the disease-carrying bacterium (vibrio cholerae) is already widespread in Pakistan.

Dysentery. Serious diarrhoea.

Wells disease. The bacterium may be spread by urine from infected rats, mouse or other animals.

7.9.10: More than 10 MILLION HOMELESS DUE TO FLOOD during the 6 WEEKS OF MASSIVE FLOODS IN PAKISTAN. "It is one of the worst humanitarian disasters in UN history", says Maurizio Giuliano – UN spokesman in Pakistan.

The OCHA says RESCUE OPERATIONS are continuing in the JAMSHORO and DADU DISTRICTS of SINDH, where vast areas are still submerged.

The monsoon floodwaters have created a large number of small islands, on which people are trapped with their livestock.

The OCHA says FLOODWATERS further SOUTH IN THATTA DISTRICT are taking longer than expected to recede.

Meanwhile in PUNJAB PROVINCE, more residents are returning, OCHA says, putting pressure on aid agencies to support them before winter sets in.

27.12.10: UN ORGANIZATION WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME (WFP) STOPS DISTRIBUTION OF FOOD IN BAJAUR in north-western Pakistan where a female suicide bomber killed 40 (including herself) on 25.12.10. More than 300,000 people who are dependent on food aid are affected by this decision. WFP: Food distribution will not be resumed until the security situation has been reviewed.

The UN launched several appeals starting with a flash appeal for $459m.
A
NUMBER OF COUNTRIES INCLUDING the USA, SAUDI-ARABIA and GREAT BRITAIN DONATED ALMOST $500m. ADDITIONAL $325m was PLEDGED.

On 02.09.10 the international Red Cross appealed for an EXTRA $76m (£49m) FOR PAKISTAN, warning that only a fraction of needs are being met.

The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank offered new emergency loans of $1.45 billion.

8 million people are dependent on emergency aid. The UN only received 2/3 of the aid that is needed, i.e $460 million according to UN estimates. Info on 2.9.10.

The International Monetary Fund said Pakistan faced a "massive economic challenge".

On 15.9.10 the IMF APPROVED AN EXPECTED $451 MILLION or almost 350 MILLION EURO IN EMERGENCY FUNDING to help the country rebuild and overcome the flood disaster. That amount is separate from a $11 billion IMF-backed economic program agreed in 2008.

On 17 September, the UN launched an appeal for more than $2bn (£1.3bn) to HELP PAKISTANI FLOOD VICTIMS, its largest ever response to a natural disaster. UN officials said the amount of money requested reflected "the ENORMOUS HUMAN and GEOGRAPHIC SCALE" of the disaster.

Health officials warned of a looming HEALTH CRISIS as a result of WATERBORNE DISEASES and POOR LIVING CONDITIONS among displaced people.

The extensive damage is a daunting challenge for the country's WEAK GOVERNMENT and FRAGILE ECONOMY.

25.9.10: The OCHA says the international response to its aid appeal for Pakistan has been "encouraging" as 31% of the $2bn (£1.3bn) REQUIRED for PAKISTAN has now been PROVIDED.

The PAKISTAN FLOOD APPEAL from the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) resulted in £60m to help the victims of the Pakistan floods. This is the highest amount raised by an appeal by the umbrella group of charities since the 2004 tsunami and this year's Haiti earthquake.

Access to some areas also remained restricted by flood waters or damage to roads and bridges.

The UN continued to report HUGE FUNDING SHORTFALLS in critical areas of its operations including FOOD, AGRICULTURAL SUPPORT and EMERGENCY SHELTER.

The DEC said EMERGENCY SHELTER remained an URGENT PRIORITY after 1.9 MILLION HOMES were DAMAGED OR DESTROYED by the floods.

There had not been enough suitable tents available, despite the fact that Pakistan was the world's leading manufacturer. It will now be providing 155,000 people with tarpaulins and tents.

Money was also being targeted to provide CLEAN WATER, TOILETS and HYGIENE SUPPORT for 550,000 PEOPLE and HEALTHCARE for 359,000 people, including assistance for malnourished children, pregnant woman and the elderly.

Additionally FOOD, EMERGENCY SHELTER and HOUSEHOLD ITEMS such as pots and pans were also being provided.

In all provinces except Sindh, the majority of the displaced have either returned to their home areas or are in the process of moving back.

DIARRHOEA and MALARIA remain very serious concerns in PUNJAB and SINDH due to hot weather, standing water, and poor access to clean water and safe toilets.

Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik has defended the way his country is distributing millions of dollars of flood relief. His comments followdc allegations of corruption from flood affected people.
Recently, Pakistan announced mid-year measures to raise more than $700m (£435m) to support people affected by monsoon floods over the summer.

A study of flood damage conducted by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank have put total losses at about $9.7bn (£6bn).

The WFP will have to cut rations - by half - in November because of a lack of donations. The UN's $2bn (£1.26) APPEAL FOR PAKISTAN IS LESS THAN 40% FUNDED.

On 25.11.10 aid agencies said many promises of help have receded with the flood waters. Funds are drying up as new threats are emerging: Diseases are spreading, and winter is closing in on the 20 million flood victims - seven million of whom still do not have shelter.

The flood victims have no blankets and no warm clothes, and there is nothing to eat.
United Nations on 4.12.10 reported that 1 MILLION PAKISTANI ARE STILL IN NEED OF HELP

Why is Pakistan Being Left Behind? 20 MILLION PEOPLE have been AFFECTED BY the FLOODING in PAKISTAN. The answer is probably DONOR FATIGUE FROM HAITI and/or the DOMINANT IMAGE OF PAKISTAN in the mainstream media being one of terrorism, extremism and nuclear arms. No aid may lead to Pakistan falling deeper into INSTABILITY.

On 1 September AVAAZ posted an “URGENT petition in relation to PAKISTAN”:

“Pakistan: debt vs. lives‏ pleading for life-saving debt relief for the people of Pakistan.
The organization ONE (the one started by BONO) published this petition: “Help Freeze PAKISTAN’s debt - ONE petition”.

Hillary Clinton: Entire villages were washed away, as were fields full of crops. At the time of the emergency, it was estimated that up to $460 million in aid was needed to keep people safe from waterborne bacterial diseases and help feed and clothe them. Yet emergency relief coordinators noted that only a third of what was needed had been pledged by countries around the world.

Today, on World Human Rights Day, you can support ongoing relief efforts to provide medical care and help to rebuild Pakistan's roads, towns and farms. While direct aid is urgently needed, you can also sign the petition to have Pakistan's debt frozen by the International Monetary Fund for two years while the country focuses on recovering from the floods.

It's inhumane to expect an already poor nation to repay international debt in the midst of a vast natural disaster.”

Abdul Khaliq Shah / Policy & Advocacy Officer / Oxfam:
“While Pakistan is in desperate need of resources, it is being pushed by lenders to continue paying its foreign debt, ignoring the urgent needs of millions of people in distress. Pakistani civil society has been constantly urging lender governments and international institutions to provide much needed debt relief to Pakistan, so that it is able to help the millions of people desperately in need.

This is where your voice has helped achieve an important step. We presented the joint petition signed by over 200,000 people at a vital meeting of the countries who are responding to the crisis. It sent a clear message that they should ensure Pakistan has as much of its own resources as possible to spend on the long term rebuilding work to help those affected.

This call for action has helped to get the issue firmly on the international agenda – a vital start.

What’s needed next is for the Pakistan Government to make it clear that resources freed up through debt relief will directly benefit those affected by the disaster, and donor countries to insist this happens as part of any support they give. Oxfam and local organisations will be campaigning strongly on this in Pakistan and joining with organisations like ONE to keep pressuring governments around the world.”

Roskilde 5 July 2009

Herning 16 August 2009

HELP CHILE AND HAITI by making DONATIONS to ONE OF THESE RELIEF ORGANIZATIONS:

REVIEW OF 2010 IN RELATION TO NATURAL DISASTERS, PART IV

A list of day-by-day disasters in 2010 compiled by the AP runs 64 printed pages long.
Therefore I will only mention some of them – mainly the major ones.

January 2010: 2 earthquakes hit the Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean, North-East of Australia. Tremors destroyed a considerable number of houses and triggered a minor tsunami that did not cause much damage. AP

04.01.10: HONIARA, Solomon Islands: A MAGNITUDE-7.2 QUAKE sent an up to 10 feet (3 meter) high TSUNAMI wave crashing into the shores of Rendova Island and nearby Tetepare Island. Eight other quakes greater than magnitude 5.0 rocked the region since. 200 homes were destroyed on one island in the Solomons leaving about one-third of the population homeless. As many as 1,000 PEOPLE were made HOMELESS ON SOLOMONS AFTER TSUNAMI. Large areas were completely inundated UNICEF provided immediate support to the victims.

The Solomon Islands lie on the "RING OF FIRE" — an arc of earthquake and volcanic zones that stretches around the Pacific Rim and where about 90 percent of the world's quakes occur. - AP

27.2.10: STRONG Magnitude 6.9 EARTHQUAKE + TSUNAMI WARNING IN SOUTH JAPAN TOKYO – A magnitude 6.9 earthquake hit off Japan's southern coast early Saturday, shaking Okinawa and nearby islands. Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries. In 1995, a magnitude-7.2 quake in the western port city of Kobe killed 6,400 people.

On 20 April BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig blew up, killing 11 workers. An estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil leaked into the waters of the Gulf during 87 days, with only 800,000 barrels being captured.
The leak was finally stopped on 15 July using a lower-marine-riser-package cap. An underwater robot hacked off the leaking pipe, and a funnel-like cap was lowered over the ruptured oil pipe on the seabed of the Gulf of Mexico. The captured oil was then funnelled to a ship on the surface. The work was delayed by a storm.
At the beginning of August 2010, almost three-quarters of the oil spilled in the Gulf of Mexico had been cleaned up or broken down by natural forces according to the US government.

White House energy adviser Carol Browner said only a quarter of the leaked oil posed any further danger to the environment. The majority had been captured, burned off or evaporated.

The report from the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration (NOAA) indicated it was unlikely beaches along the Gulf of Mexico would be covered by surfacing oil in the future.

"Mother nature will continue to break it down. But some of it may come onshore, as weathered tar balls. Those will be cleaned up.”

A study of the effects of the Deepwater Horizon spill has confirmed the presence of a toxic chemical residue one kilometre below the sea surface.

Oil giant BP put $20bn (£13.5bn) in a compensation fund for victims of the Gulf oil spill and will not pay shareholders a dividend this year.
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THE WORST HEATWAVE IN 100 YEARS AND SMOG CAUSED THE HIGH DEATH TOLL IN RUSSIA LAST SUMMER

At least 56,000 Russions died due to heat or air pollution last Summer which makes that natural disaster the second-largest natural disaster in the world in 2010 only surpassed by the disastrous earthquake in Haiti in January 2010. That appears from a statement made by the globally leading German reassurance company Munich Re.

Thus, last year's Russian heatwave was the most fatal, documented heatwave in the world history and thus even worse than the notorious European heatwave in the Summer of 2003 when about 40,000 Europeans died of heatstroke or dehydration in temperatures of more than 40 degrees Celsius.

SYMPTOM OF CLIMATE CHANGE
It was the probably most lethal natural disaster in Russia for more than 100 years. Munich RE has counted 950 natural disasters with a total of exceptionally high death tolls in the world last year - the highest number of deaths for 27 years - and among the disasters 9 out of 10 were weather-related. That makes the company conclude that the numerous powerful hurricanes and flood disasters and the record-high temperatures are symptoms of climate change.

Article in Danish newspaper Berlingske.dk

Translated by me - NANCY

---------------------------------

RUSSIAN WILDFIRES DURING HEATWAVE IN AUGUST COST AT LEAST 48 HUMAN LIVES
Following a long period of drought and intense heat, wildfires broke out in Russia and continued for weeks. Seven regions were under a state of emergency as the fires, which killed at least 48 people including some firefighters, continued to rage.

To the east of the capital, Moscow, firefighters were battling blazes near a major nuclear research facility in Sarov. As a precaution, all nuclear materials were removed from the site, which is located about 400km (250 miles) to the east of Moscow.

Due to an approaching fire, the Russian authorities declared a state of emergency around a nuclear reprocession plant in the southern Urals. The local authorities stated in an announcement that the flames approached the MAJAK plant where nuclear waste is stored and reprocessed. The firefighters were able to extinguish the fire. Some of the wildfires were in the CHERNOBYL RADIATION ZONE.

Thousands of people lost their homes in 14 regions of Russia. About a fifth of Russia's grain crop was also destroyed.

Peat bog fires outside Moscow shrouded the capital in smog for several days, and doctors told the elderly and toddlers to wear gauze masks outdoors. Elena Lezina, an expert at the Moscow state agency that monitors air quality, said pollution in the capital had surged four to 10 times above safe levels. Many fires were caused by human negligence. MOSCOW DEATHS DOUBLED IN HEATWAVE AND WILDFIRE SMOG.
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22.8.10: MAJOR CHINA FLOODS and mass evacuations

24.8.10: ENORMOUS NEED OF HELP IN NIGER, AFRICA – THREATENED BY FAMINE
At least 110,000 PEOPLE are HOMELESS after HEAVY RAIN and flooding following a prolonged drought which caused crops to fail, so OCHA, UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. More than 7 MILLION people or ½ of NIGER's POPULATION are threatened by FAMINE, if they do not get any aid.

26 August 2010: MAJOR FLOOD IN NORTH INDIA DUE TO MONSOON RAIN

27 August 2010: TWELVE DIED IN NORTHERN TURKEY LANDSLIDES after torrential rain

01.09.10: DRAMATIC FLOODS in SOUTH-WESTERN SUDAN over the past month. Heavy rains have left Aweil, the main town of Northern Bahr al-Ghazal province, largely under water. The United Nations has already provided some kind of FOOD ASSISTANCE to almost half the population of the south this year.

02.09.10: At least 3 DEATHS AND SUBSTANTIAL MATERIAL DAMAGE IN SOUTH KOREA DUE TO TYPHOON KOMPASU. TYPHOON KOMPASU HIT SOUTH KOREA CAPITAL SEOUL. It was the strongest to hit Seoul in 15 years.

03.09.10: A 7.0-or 7.4-MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE ROCKED NEW ZEALAND's SOUTH ISLAND
The earthquake struck 7 km from CHRISTCHURCH – New Zealand’s second-largest city with a population of between 342,000 and 386,000 people. The epicentre was 55km (35 miles) north-west of Christchurch at a depth of 12 km (7.5 miles). There were reports of substantial material damage: In CHRISTCHURCH buildings, bridges, streets/roads and cars were damaged. The supply of electricity and water was down. The international airport was evacuated. 100,000 homes were damaged.

Many AFTERSHOCKS followed – one of them had a magnitude of 5.7. A state of emergency in CHRISTCHURCH was declared and extended for another two days.

Despite the WIDESPREAD DAMAGE caused by the strong earthquake, no one was killed, and only two serious injuries were reported.

New Zealand lies at the southern end of the so-called PACIFIC RING OF FIRE, and above an area of the Earth's crust where the Pacific Plate converges with the Indo-Australian Plate.

The country experiences more than 14,000 earthquakes a year, of which only around 20 have a magnitude in excess of 5.0.

The last fatal earthquake was in 1968, when a 7.1-magnitude tremor killed three people on the South Island's western coast.
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06.09.10: LANDSLIDE IN GUATEMALA FOLLOWED BY A NEW LANDSLIDE THAT BURIED RESCUE TEAM IN GUATEMALA – the new landslide killed at least 40 people – maybe all 100 people trying to dig a bus free after the first landslide. 36 people have been found dead in Guatemala after landslides and floods in many areas of Guatemala last week-end.

06.09.10: FLOODS + LANDSLIDES IN STATE OF VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA: 300 homes flooded in South-East Australia. Hundreds of people had to leave their homes. The floods were the worst since 1998.

06.09.10: TROPICAL STORM "HERMINE" made a landfall on the north-eastern coast of Mexico close to the US border. The authorities had issued WARNINGS / ALERT and feared floods, tornadoes and landslides and damage caused by the storm.

7.9.10: ETHIOPIA: 16,000 people were forced to leave their homes since Logia river burst its bank and a dam breached in north-east Ethiopia. Earlier central parts of the country were hit by CLOUDBURSTS.

24 + 25.9.10: 2 MILLION DISPLACED BY FLOODS IN NIGERIA’s JIGAWA STATE
The authorities opened the floodgates on two dams out of fear that the dams would collapse after heavy rain. More than 5,000 villages are affected by floods. 2 MILLIONS HAVE BECOME HOMELESS. The dams are in KANO STATE, but about 5,000 villages in neighbouring JIGAWA STATE were affected.

Several states in northern NIGERIA have been hit by FLOODS this year.

18.10.10: SUPER TYPHOON MEGI AKA. JUAN HIT NORTHERN PHILIPPINES KILLING 36 Megi – known as JUAN in the Philippines - killed at least 36 people and caused significant damage due to landslides in the PHILIPPINES.

The typhoon ravaged the two large rice producing provinces of Cagayan and Isabella at the time of harvesting. The typhoon destroyed up to 600,000 tons of rice. In 2009 the Philippines imported 2.4 million tons from the outside world.

Each year about 20 TYPHOONS RAVAGE in the Philippines. Last year almost 1,000 died due to typhoons.

20.10.10 SUPER TYPHOON MEGI RAVAGED IN ASIA

140,000 CHINESE FLED TYPHOON “MEGI”. The Chinese authorities declared state of calamity for the coastal areas in the southern part of China..

The typhoon is potentially the most powerful on the planet for 5 years.

News on 21.11.10: FILIPINO VOLCANO BULUSAN SPEWED ASH FOR 9 MINUTES
Thousands of inhabitants fled their houses after the explosion. The grey cloud of steam and ash rose up to 2 km above the edge of the crater.
The volcano which is located around 250 km south-east of the capital MANILA spewed ash for 9 minutes, and then it stopped according to the Filipino Institute for Volcano and Earthquake Research.

FLASH FLOODS IN CENTRAL EUROPE, KILLING AT LEAST 15The flash floods were caused by rains in CENTRAL EUROPE and the BALTIC.
Rivers overflowed their banks, sending torrents of water through Bogatynia in SOUTH-WEST POLAND and Goerlitz in EASTERN GERMANY. The Neisse river, on the border with Poland, reached its highest recorded level in Goerlitz.
Massive floods in the corner where the 3 countries - Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic – meet, caused substantial damage.

FLOODS IN BRANDENBURG and SACHSEN-ANHALT at the end of September / in the first days of October

In AFRICA many countries suffered from drought. In some countries like NIGERIA and NIGER a long period of drought was followed by the RAINY SEASON bringing lots of heavy rains causing massive FLOODS.
In recent years the rainy season has been difficult to predict for everyone, including the farmers. When it started to rain, it was torrential rains that resulted in massive floods.

CHINA FLOODS AND LANDSLIDES IN NORTH-WEST CHINA – ALSO North-Korea was affected

More than 700 people died in a massive landslide in north-west China - making it one of the deadliest incidents so far in the country's worst flooding in a decade.

The landslides in remote ZHOUQU county, GANSU, were triggered by TORRENTIAL RAINS.
Buildings were hit by a wall of mud so mighty that buildings seven storeys high crumpled like paper, says the BBC's Chris Hogg, in Gansu province.
A 52-year-old man was pulled alive from the rubble more than 50 hours after the disaster.

Landslide debris blocked a river which then burst its banks, sending water, rocks and mud down several hillsides and on to homes.

Soldiers used explosives to blast through debris that partly dammed the Bailong river and created an unstable lake, which eventually overflowed and sent a wave of water engulfing the town of Zhouqu early on Sunday.

The landslides came as China was struggling with its worst flooding in a decade, with more than 2,100 people reported dead or missing and millions more displaced nationwide.

Specialists in epidemic prevention and medical workers were sent to the area amid growing fears that contaminated water could spark an outbreak of disease, Xinhua reported.
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HURRICANES
Hurricane EARL was closely followed by Tropical Storm FIONA. Areas along the US East Coast declared STATES OF EMERGENCY.Hurricane EARL gained strength to a CATEGORY FOUR STORM, generating sustained winds of 233km/h (145mph). People were evacuated in the coastal areas that might be brushed by the hurricane.
The governors of NORTH CAROLINA, VIRGINIA and MARYLAND declared STATES of EMERGENCY.
MASSACHUSETTS and RHODE ISLAND joined NORTH CAROLINA, VIRGINIA and MARYLAND by declaring states of emergency.
A STATE OF EMERGENCY authorises the FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY (FEMA) and the DEPARTMENT of HOMELAND SECURITY to head disaster relief efforts.
Hurricane EARL moved north along the US east coast towards NEW ENGLAND and CANADA.

The quake struck 7 km from New Zealand from CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand's second largest city with a population of about 342,000. Reports of substantial material damage. Several aftershocks followed in the next couple of months including on 25. or 26.12.10.
New Zealand lies at the southern end of the so-called PACIFIC RING OF FIRE, and above an area of the Earth's crust where the Pacific Plate converges with the Indo-Australian Plate.
The country experiences more than 14,000 earthquakes a year, of which only around 20 have a magnitude in excess of 5.0.
The last fatal earthquake was in 1968, when a 7.1-magnitude tremor killed three people on the South Island's western coast.

GUATEMALA LANDSLIDE occurred on 5 September 2010
Dozens of people were buried when a landslide engulfed a highway north-west of the capital. The mud crashed onto the road as a crowd tried to dig out vehicles buried by a previous landslide.

December 2010: SHORTAGE of WATER in JORDAN forces the authorities to declare a state of emergency. The shortage of water is due to the warmer climate, the increase in the population and an inefficient agriculture. Jordan's population has increased drastically. The flow in the Jordan river has fallen by 80% due to dam construction(s) upstreams and due to large-scale irrigation.

In the last days of December 2010 THE PHILIPPINES was hit by MUDSLIDES and FLASH-FLOODS in connection with heavy monsoon rain which forced 4,000 people to flee their homes south-east of the capital, MANILA.

2 people heading for an evacuation camp were swept away by the water masses.

AUSTRALIA:

Last year the Australian state of VICTORIA was hit by the worst forest wildfires ever in Australia, and 173 people lost their lives during the fires.

The drought was related to the weather phenomenon of El Niño which is triggered by high temperatures in the Pacific Ocean.

In the last days of December 2010 AUSTRALIA was hit by FLOODS

Massive floods after days of heavy rain forced the inhabitants in the north-eastern Australian state of Queensland to leave their houses. In some regions it was the worst floods in 50 years. Floods alerts were issued for 11 rivers by Queensland's meteorologists.

The water masses made the streets impassible and destroyed farms and crops, flooded houses, communities and towns / cities.

It had rained in the region since Christmas. Areas attracting tourists were not affected.

More than 1,000 were evacuated in Queensland and brought to evacuation camps.

On 31.12.10: FLOOD IN AUSTRALIA COVERS AN AREA CORRESPONDING TO GERMANY & FRANCE

People living in low-lying areas in Rockhampton in the state of Queensland were evacuated as water masses were approaching the town.

About 4,000 households were threatened. The watermasses are covering an area as big as Germany and France.

"3 major river systems are flooded", said Queensland's Prime Minister Anna Bligh, and she continued: "The floods - triggered by heavy rains in the past two weeks - have submerged or cut off 22 towns in the north-eastern part of Australia". About 200,000 are affected by the worst floods in 50 years. "The catastrophe is by far not over", Bligh warned.

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31.12.10: TORNADO OUTBREAK KILLS SIX IN SOUTH AND MID-WESTERN US

A series of tornadoes in the south and mid-western US killed six people, injured several others and caused power failures for thousands in the region. Three residents of the small town of Cincinnati in Arkansas were killed by a twister early on Friday morning (31.12.10).

Tornadoes were later spotted near St Louis, Missouri and were blamed for the death of three people in the southern part of the state, authorities said. At least two people in Arkansas and six in Missouri have been injured.

A local airport cancelled flights due to debris on its runway in Benton County, a region near the Arkansas state lines with Oklahoma and Missouri, Matt Garrity, the county's manager of emergency services, told the CNN news network.

DESTRUCTION IN MISSOURI

The storm system that caused the tornado moved north-east into Missouri and was, as of Friday afternoon, maintaining its strength, which is unusual, Mr Sellers said.

Emergency Management Coordinator Brad Nash said two people died in Dent county in Missouri due to a violent storm. A third woman died when her home north of Rolla county was destroyed.

A combination of warm, wet air in the region and colder air moving in from the west created the conditions necessary for the tornado, Mr Sellers said.

"Anytime you have a significant change in air mass there is going to be unsettled weather marking the two different air masses," he added.

THE DEATHS IN CINCINNATI AND MISSOURI PUSHED THIS YEAR's COUNT OF TORNADO-RELATED FATALITIES IN THE US TO 41.

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From AP’s 2010’s world gone wild – Quakes, floods, blizzards

HOW DEADLY:

While the Haitian earthquake, Russian heat wave, and Pakistani flooding were the biggest killers, deadly quakes also struck Chile, Turkey, China and Indonesia in one of the most active seismic years in decades. Through mid-December there have been 20 earthquakes of magnitude 7.0 or higher, compared to the normal 16. This year is tied for the most big quakes since 1970, but it is not a record. Nor is it a significantly above average year for the number of strong earthquakes, U.S. earthquake officials say.

Flooding alone this year killed more than 6,300 people in 59 nations through September, according to the World Health Organization. In the United States, 30 people died in the Nashville, Tenn., region in flooding. Inundated countries include China, Italy, India, Colombia and Chad. Super Typhoon Megi with winds of more than 200 mph devastated the Philippines and parts of China.

Through Nov. 30, nearly 260,000 people died in natural disasters in 2010, compared to 15,000 in 2009, according to Swiss Re. The World Health Organization, which hasn't updated its figures past Sept. 30, is just shy of 250,000. By comparison, deaths from terrorism from 1968 to 2009 were less than 115,000, according to reports by the U.S. State Department and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

The last year in which natural disasters were this deadly was 1983 because of an Ethiopian drought and famine, according to WHO. Swiss Re calls it the deadliest since 1976.

The charity Oxfam says 21,000 of this year's disaster deaths are weather related.

HOW COSTLY:
Disasters caused $222 billion in economic losses in 2010 — more than Hong Kong's economy — according to Swiss Re. That's more than usual, but not a record, Schraft said. That's because this year's disasters often struck poor areas without heavy insurance, such as Haiti.

HOW WEIRD:
A volcano in Iceland paralyzed air traffic for days in April in Europe, disrupting travel for more than 7 million people. Other volcanoes in the Congo, Guatemala, Ecuador, the Philippines and Indonesia sent people scurrying for safety. New York City had a rare tornado.

In a 24-hour period in October, Indonesia got the trifecta of terra terror: a deadly magnitude 7.7 earthquake, a tsunami that killed more than 500 people and a volcano that caused more than 390,000 people to flee. That's after flooding, landslides and more quakes killed hundreds earlier in the year.

Through September, the 2010 disaster death toll had already surpassed such notable years as 2004, when the South Asia tsunami struck, and 2008, when Myanmar was hit by a massive cyclone and China suffered a devastating earthquake.

It was also a year of man-made technological catastrophes. BP's busted oil well caused 172 million gallons to gush into the Gulf of Mexico.

Colorado's Bilham said the world's population is moving into riskier megacities on fault zones and flood-prone areas. He figures that 400 million to 500 million people in the world live in large cities prone to major earthquakes.

— AP

Roskilde 5 July 2009

Herning 16 August 2009

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THE WORST HEATWAVE IN 100 YEARS AND SMOG CAUSED THE HIGH DEATH TOLL IN RUSSIA LAST SUMMER

At least 56,000 Russions died due to heat or air pollution last Summer which makes that natural disaster the second-largest natural disaster in the world in 2010 only surpassed by the disastrous earthquake in Haiti in January 2010. That appears from a statement made by the globally leading German reassurance company Munich Re.

Thus, last year's Russian heatwave was the most fatal, documented heatwave in the world history and thus even worse than the notorious European heatwave in the Summer of 2003 when about 40,000 Europeans died of heatstroke or dehydration in temperatures of more than 40 degrees Celsius.

SYMPTOM OF CLIMATE CHANGE
It was the probably most lethal natural disaster in Russia for more than 100 years. Munich RE has counted 950 natural disasters with a total of exceptionally high death tolls in the world last year - the highest number of deaths for 27 years - and among the disasters 9 out of 10 were weather-related. That makes the company conclude that the numerous powerful hurricanes and flood disasters and the record-high temperatures are symptoms of climate change.

Danish newspaper Berlingske.dk

Translated by me - NANCY

--------------------------------

The above has been added to Part IV in the Annual Report of Natural Disasters 2010 just before mentioning the Russian Wildfires.

Roskilde 5 July 2009

Herning 16 August 2009

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